Contributing to a healthy China

 

Coloplast opens a new production site in Zhuhai and celebrates its 50th Jubilee.

 

Coloplast, a leading company within medical devices, celebrated its 50th Jubilee on 1 November 2007 by opening a brand new production centre in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province.

The 14 million dollar production centre will employ 600 people bringing the total number of Coloplast employees in China to 800.

The opening ceremony was attended by H.E. Anne Steffensen, Danish Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen, Danish Ambassador, H.E. Deng Weilong, General Secretary of CMP of Zhuhai, H.E. Zhong Shijian, Mayor of Zhuhai City, Jens Martin Alsbirk, General Consul of Denmark in Guangzhou, He Ningka, Vice Mayor of Zhuhai, Chen Honghui, Vice Mayor of Zhuhai, and other honoured guests representing the Chinese and Danish governments, business and media.

Coloplast management led by Sten Scheibye, President and CEO, Jørgen Bundgaard Hansen, SVP, Roman Trawicki, VP, and Jesper L. Thomsen, Site Director hosted the ceremony.

During the celebration Sten Scheibye expressed his delight over the new factory in Zhuhai: "I am very pleased to see the progress we have made here in China since our entry 12 years ago. With the support from the Chinese government, our business partners and our employees we have been able to be the driving force in maturing markets for ostomy care, urology and continence care as well as wound and skin care in China. As a global company with a long tradition for contributing to a better quality of life for people with tabooed impairments we are gratified to see that our business values are fully in line with the current development objectives of China as China is well on its way to building a more healthy society based on an increasingly consummate medical care system."

Scheibye further expressed how pleased he was with the close co-operation with the Chinese authorities and revealed that Coloplast and China have more in common than most people know: "Fifty years ago Coloplast was founded on the basis of a close relationship with our customers. However, Coloplast did not invent the process of growing a business through close relationships although listening and responding epitomizes our way of doing business. In fact the fine art of building relationships is one of the most remarkable characteristics of China that meets you when you visit this magnificent country from abroad. Without a keen and persistent ability to get together with other people there would be no financial wonder as the one we experience in China right now. And there would be no new production centre in Zhuhai today."

Commenting on the production centre, Jørgen Bundgaard Hansen said, "The Zhuhai production centre is a world-class facility with 22,000 square meters manufacturing and with state-of-the-art technology. Our objective is to speed up our growth in China by enhancing our abilities to offer better products and service to the Chinese market as well as globally. The new factory will also produce and provide medical manufacturing equipment for Coloplast worldwide".

Speaking at the celebration, Danish ambassador Tranholm-Mikkelsen said that he was very impressed by the efforts made by leading Danish companies like Coloplast to build a strong partnership with the Chinese community, local government, business partners and its Chinese employees. He believed the success of such a partnership is the cornerstone of the solid bilateral relations between the two nations. He also expressed his gratitude to the Chinese government for providing a favourable environment for the growth of Danish business in China.

This year Coloplast celebrates its 50th anniversary. The story of how Coloplast began still holds the essence of what the company is all about. When the trained nurse Elise Sørensen experienced that her sister lived in social isolation after an ostomy surgery she decided to do something about it. In the 1950's ostomy appliances were neither leak proof nor odour free. Elise believed that an ostomy bag attached by an adhesive seal around the stoma would make a world of difference. So did Coloplast's founders. And it did. Since then - 50 years later - Coloplast still continues to listen and respond to people's needs thus helping them to live life to the full.

 

• Founded in 1957 in Denmark, Coloplast is an innovative world leader in specialized medical devices for ostomy, continence care, wound and skin care
• Coloplast has production bases in Denmark, China, USA, Germany, Hungary and France with total sales of 1.373 billion USD
• With 7000 employees in 30 countries around the world, the company has a strong and successful tradition of always being an innovative leader for quality designs offering better products and services based on close communications with customers 
• Coloplast has a long-term commitment to China in helping improve the quality of life of the people with its quality medical devices and services 
• Coloplast China was established in 1995 and started production in 1996. The company produces appliances for ostomy care, urology and continence care as well as wound/skin care for China and other international markets 
• It has sales offices reaching across China and a major production centre in Zhuhai, Guangdong 
• In order to provide latest industrial knowledge to medical professionals including nurses and doctors in China, the company has established Coloplast Academy 
• The products, which Coloplast manufactures and sells in China, are of the highest international quality standards and are ISO 14001 and ISO13485 compliant